Please help Just4Children raise much needed funds for SDR surgery, intensive physiotherapy aftercare and much needed specialist equipment so I can have the best chance at living a pain free future with more possibilities.
Hello, my name is Heidi-Lou. I am 8 years old from Swinton near Salford. I’m a happy little girl. Everyone says I have a funny personality and love to be around me. I was also born at 37 weeks when my mummy couldn’t feel me moving. When I was 13 months old my family were told that I had suffered brain damage caused by lack of oxygen before my birth. I was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy. I am also profoundly deaf and have epilepsy.
Quad CP means that all of my limbs are affected. I have severe spasticity meaning the muscles in my arms and legs can get very tight and often cause me lots of pain. I work very hard doing physiotherapy and stretches to help loosen my muscles while I wear splints on my feet and also wear a Lycra suit to help support my posture.
I am not able to do the things most other children my age can do. I can not sit nor walk independently, nor roll over or wiggle my toes. I am solely dependent on my mummy to get me dressed, brush my teeth and put on my own shoes. I want to do what my two brothers and other children my age can do, like play in the park, jump in a puddle, ride a bike and just generally being able to move around independently. To be able to stand and walk would be all my dreams come true.
My family and friends are raising much needed funds so I can have life changing surgery Selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR). It is a minimally invasive spinal operation that can permanently reduce leg spasticity.
The benefits for me include:
•Reduce spasticity
•Reduce painful spasms
•Improve ease of cares
•Improve functional mobility (transfers/ walking)
•Improve self-care activities, such as getting dressed
•Improve sleep pattern
•Improve energy levels and physical endurance
This surgery will simple change my life and help prevent any further surgeries as I go into adulthood, keep me pain free and open up so many more opportunities, milestones, possibilities and most of all happiness.
Please help Just4Children raise some much needed funds for me to have life changing surgery, therapy and equipment. Help me live pain free and be the happy girl that I that I just love to be.
Love Heidi-Lou
Follow Heidi-Lou on Facebook and Twitter
